War crimes court rejects Karadzic trial delay bid

The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal says the genocide trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic will resume April 13. Appeals judges have rejected Karadzic's latest bid to delay the case, clearing the way for the first witness to testify later this month.

The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal says the genocide trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic will resume April 13.

Appeals judges have rejected Karadzic's latest bid to delay the case, clearing the way for the first witness to testify later this month. Tribunal spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic said Thursday that trial judges set the new date after Karadzic's appeal asking that the case start June 17 was turned down.

Karadzic faces 11 war crimes charges that allege he masterminded Serb crimes throughout the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. He faces a maximum life sentence if convicted.

Prosecutors also allege that Karadzic orchestrated atrocities including the 1995 slaughter of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Bosnia's Srebrenica enclave, Europe's worst massacre since World War II.